


Duets

by heyitzcarley



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-03-15 04:11:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitzcarley/pseuds/heyitzcarley
Summary: Lance McClain can't think of a time when he wasn't in love with music. He was what people would call a "musical prodigy," and he spent a lot of time during class scribbling down notes on his arm for his next piece to play on his beloved cello. Another thing he can't imagine not having is his soul bond.Apparently, soul bonds that let you communicate through Writing are one of the rarest; it's a shame that his soulmate rarely seems to even look at Lance's attempts to start a conversation.Keith Kogane wasn't good at talking; he always seemed to find the wrong things to say to start conversations. His few friends nagged at him to speak to his soulmate more than the few bits of encouragement when the music pieces had a lot of scribbles and notes written in them, but Keith preferred not to scare off the person he was supposed to fit perfectly with. But he can't help himself to not pick up his violin and play the notes dotted across his arms.





	1. He's A Guy?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! This is the second (revised) version of this chapter, and I'm so happy to be having such awesome positive feedback from people who are actually reading this thing!
> 
> The next chapter should be out soonish; stay tuned and all that jazz. :)
> 
> Also: there aren't any archive warnings yet because the whole "plot details" thing hasn't really been planned out yet and I quite honestly have no idea where I'm going to end up with this thing. I'm really sorry if there's anything bad that no one got warned about.

Lance didn't really like his cello at the moment.

No matter what he did, the end of the piece he was trying to compose just never sounded right. Lance sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking around his room. Well, it wasn't really his. He shared it with his older brother, Alonzo.

It was never clean with five other siblings running around. His parents never nagged him about it either, which he appreciated because Lance preferred it that way.

His gaze landed on the Sharpie sitting on his desk. He picked it up and twirled it in his fingers a couple times, thinking about what to write.

"Hi." He wrote on his arm. As he waited for a response, he loosened his bow strings and put away his cello. Soon, the familiar tickling sensation sent tingles up and down his arm.

"Yes hello this isn't your soulmat" Was the reply.

Lance raised an eyebrow as he watched random lines appear on his arm as if someone was trying to write on his soulmate's arm but they weren't letting the person write on them.

Lance gave a small smile and took a beat up old journal out of his desk drawer. He opened it to the first empty page. Which happened to be the third page.

"Doesn't really talk much?" Lance wrote in the journal. He flipped back to the other pages, reading the entries.

"A person of few words."

"Ignores me a lot."

Lance grinned at the last one. Ever since Lance had learned that his soul bond was Writing, he made an effort to say hello to his soulmate every day.

Lance looked back at his arm, pitifully blank, and back to the Sharpie in his other hand.

"Boy or girl?" He wrote.

"Boy."

Lance's mouth gaped open and smiled. His soulmate had never really answered any of his questions before, especially not directly.

Lance didn't have a problem with his soulmate being a guy. As he documented this in his notebook, the mysterious boy scrawled a question on Lance's arm.

"City?"

Lance looked out his window and smiled wider. His soulmate was actually moving forward with the conversation! And Lance didn't have to press him! Lance wondered what had brought about the change. 

He was from Cuba, but his family moved to America when Lance was seven.

"Columbus, Ohio. America. You?" Lance answered.

"Boston, Massachusetts. America."

Lance smiled again. They were actually having a conversation for the first time in... ever, really. His soulmate wasn't exactly a talkative guy.

It was actually kind of comforting to know that his soulmate was only 776.3 miles away from him, not on the other side of the Earth.

"Meet you?" Lance asked.

"Maybe."

Lance's smile faltered for a moment. At least he didn't say no, right?

"College major?" Lance asked.

There was no answer.

Lance felt a little disappointed that his soulmate was done talking, but he was excited, too. This was the most his soulmate had ever talked to him before. Lance wondered again what had brought about this change in him.

Him.

Him, him, him.

Lance smiled widely as he thought about how he wouldn't have to think of his soulmate as a "they" anymore. 

"LANCE!"

Lance was startled out of his thoughts as one of his youngest siblings barged into his room.

"Lance!" He screeched.

Lance rolled his eyes and feigned annoyance. "What is it, Theo?"

"Mama and Papi want you to help with dinner tonight." Theo chirped before running back to join Lance's other little brother, Nico, Theo's twin.

Lance chuckled under his breath as he followed Theo out of his room. Lance never tried to hide his affection for his family. Lance's friend Pidge always made fun of him for it, but Lance never really minded. His family was his home. Wherever he was, if he was with them, he always knew he would be fine.

When Lance got downstairs, his Papi spotted him and waved him into the kitchen.

"Lance," his Papi smiled. "Your Mama and I are making tuna casserole tonight. Wanna help us out?"

Lance smiled. "Sure! What can I do?"

Lance's mother waved him over. "Help me make the sauce. We're not really doing it casserole style, it's more like… egg noodles and tuna sauce."

Lance and his dad laughed as Lance helped his mom open packets of tuna. While his dad was boiling the noodles, Lance and his mom made the sauce.

When they were finished, Lance's mom walked over to the foot of the stairs and yelled up, "DINNER!"

Lance was pretty sure he heard multiple crashes and probably something breaking before all five of his other siblings flooded down the stairs.

Lance and his dad began scooping the noodles onto everyone's plates as his mom poured sauce on everyone's plate as they passed. After everyone was seated, his dad made an attempt at "family conversation."

"So…" he began. "Anyone heard from their soulmates recently?"

His older sister, Emely, began going on about her soulmate, some guy named Coran, while Lance zoned out. He really didn't want to tell his family about his soulmate being a guy. His dad wasn't exactly in agreement with the whole LGBTQ+ agenda. His mom, on the other hand, was pretty okay with it.

It must have been a few minutes, because his dad called him out of his trance.

"What about you, Lance? Any word from your soulmate?"

Lance squirmed in his seat. He was put on the spot, and he really did not like the situation at all.

"Um," his head was racing a mile a minute. What should he say, what, what, what? "Yeah, actually." Goddamnit Lance!

His parents smiled. "Really?" his mom asked. "What did they say?"

Lance turned bright red. "Well, um, they said- they told me where they live?"

It came out sounding more like a question.

His parents' faces lit up.

"Really?" Emely asked. She actually sounded genuinely interested. That made Lance feel guilty.

"Yeah. Boston." Lance said meekly.

By this time, most of Lance's family had finished their food and was just kind of sitting there.

"Can I be excused, Papi?" Lance's youngest sister, Camilla, asked.

Lance's dad smiled. "Sure. Let's go to bed Camilla."

After Lance's dad and Camilla had left, everyone else started clearing out. Lance helped his mom clear the table and start washing the dishes. They were about halfway done when Lance's dad came into the kitchen.

"Your soulmate is going to be a really lucky girl, Lance." he said, putting his hand on his son's shoulder.

Lance flinched but plastered a smile onto his face to cover it up. "Yeah. Sure."

"Camilo, they could be a boy." Lance's mother chided him. Lance silently cheered.

Lance's father scoffed. "I'm sure my boy won't be soulmates with a male, Novia. Lance would never associate with someone... like that."

Lance cringed. Not only was Lance's soulmate a boy, but Lance himself identified as bisexual. He hadn't told any of his family for fear or a reaction like this.

"Camilo!" Lance's mother exclaimed. "How could you say something like that? The possibility of Lance's soulmate being a boy isn't a bad thing!" Novia glanced at her son. "Lance can love whoever he wants to love, especially if it's his soulmate!"

Lance took his parents beginning to argue as his queue to leave. He stood silently and walked out of the room and up the stairs. His parents didn't notice. But Lance's youngest sister, Camilla, did.

"Lance," she whispered, running up to him. "What's going on?"

Lance felt panic welling up inside him at the thought of explaining to his eight-year-old sister that his own father was...

"Nothing, Cam. Come on. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Lance asked softly, taking her hand.

Camilla didn't ask any more questions, which Lance was grateful for. After seeing Camilla back to bed with the twins, Lance walked back to his and Alonzo's room.

Alonzo was kind of a night owl. He would say up until the early hours of the morning, reading, drawing, you name it. He did anything and everything, as long as it was silent. That was Alonzo's personality. Quiet and reserved. The opposite of Lance, really.

That's why he and Lance had absolutely no problem sharing a room. Alonzo stayed quiet and Lance jabbered on and on about his friends, school, his cello, anything. Alonzo didn't seem to mind how much Lance talked. He never said anything about it, anyway. 

But tonight...

Lance didn't really feel like talking. As soon as Lance opened the door, Alonzo looked up from the book he was reading on the top of their bunk bed.

"You're not saying anything," Alonzo observed quietly. "Something's wrong."

Lance sighed. Not telling his family the whole truth about his soulmate situation had really drained him. Besides, Alonzo was the biggest snitch. It's not like Lance could tell him about his soulmate and Alonzo wouldn’t tell his parents, and Lance really did not need that to happen.

"No, Alonzo, nothing's wrong."


	2. Coffee Works Miracles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling very overwhelmed with how much positive feedback this is getting, thank you all so much!
> 
> New chapter (obviously...)! I've been busy and couldn't think of anything to write halfway through so it's short, sorry. Hope you guys like it :)

It was 1:00 in the morning and Lance was still awake. He lay on the bottom bunk of the bed that he shared with Alonzo, staring up at the bottom of his brother's mattress.

Lance got out of bed and sat at his desk, a Sharpie in his hand. He always did this when he couldn't sleep. Copied music on his arm.

He used to rewrite his favorite pieces that he'd played so much that he'd even memorized the tempo markings, but lately, Lance had started to get more into composing his own pieces.

Lance had started working on his own piece for the first time last year, but he had never really told anyone why. Everyone was actually pretty confused, because Lance wasn't usually that creative when it came to music.

That was the very same piece that he was working on yesterday before dinner.

Lance had almost the entire piece finished, but he just couldn't figure out the end. No matter how he wrote it, it just sounded… wrong. 

Well, Beethoven didn't write his symphony in a day, right?

Lance sighed and put the marker away. He couldn't focus enough to write anything at the moment, so he opened up his laptop.

"How long did it take Beethoven to write his symphonies," he typed into the search bar.

The first search result was a Wikipedia page called, "Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)." Lance clicked it open.

"The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824…"

So. Lance isn't the only one who takes forever to finish his pieces. It's normal, apparently.

Lance wondered if his soulmate played an instrument or sang or wrote. What were his hobbies? What kind of coffee did he like?

Lance furrowed his brows at that last one. That kind of came out of nowhere.

Unfortunately, the thought of a cup of coffee set Lance's stomach rumbling. He sighed and plodded down the stairs, drumming his fingers lightly against the wall as he walked. As he poured coffee grounds into the coffee maker, Lance wondered why he wanted coffee so bad. It's not like he was tired. If he was, he would be sleeping right now.

As soon as his coffee was done brewing, Lance scooped two spoonfuls of sugar in and walked back to his room. Lance froze as he felt his arm grow warm with the unfamiliar feeling of his soulmate writing to him.

Why was his soulmate writing to him? He never wrote to Lance.

Lance almost dropped his coffee trying to twist his arm into his line of sight.

"Hey."

Well. That was kind of disappointing. Lance set his cup on the counter next to him and took a pen the one of his siblings left behind on the kitchen table.

"Hey," he wrote back.

Neither of them wrote anything for a little while after that. 

"I really like your music," Lance's soulmate wrote.

Lance's face broke into a wide smile. His soulmate liked his music. Mr. I Will Not Speak To You In Anything But One Or Two Word Sentences actually told Lance that he liked Lance's music.

Lance didn't know what to say. A simple thank you didn't really feel like the right thing. Lance wanted to give his soulmate something more than that. Something the meant more.

With an idea slowly forming, Lance capped the pen and picked up his coffee again, getting ready to go back to his room. Lance still wasn't ready to go to bad. Not by a long shot.

When Lance opened the door to his bedroom, Alonzo didn't even stir. With a newfound determination, Lance sat on a stool in the corner with his cello, quietly plucking notes and writing them down. Chords, tempos, time signatures.

Composing wasn't just something that Lance did for himself anymore. Lance was doing this for his soulmate now.


	3. a friendly little note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello, this is not an update (sorry, carley is working on one right now)  
> this is her friend rosey! i am doing a little thing for her, so read on!

Hi everyone!  
Carley is not here right now, this is her friend named Rosey! I am getting an archive account soon, but I don't have one yet. She hasn't stopped spamming me about her story on here and how people are actually reading it, and I just wanted to add a little input.  
She has been complaining (yes, complaining is the correct word) about how her story has been read by people she doesn't actually know. She has no idea what to do because none of her other stories on wattpad (she only got archive recently) were ever read by anyone other than school friends. I told her to write a little chapter thanking her readers, but she said, and I quote, "PEOPLE LIKE ME. WHY DO THEY LIKE ME? WHAT DO I DO? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE A THANK YOU CHAPTER, ROSEY. HELP ME."  
So, here I am! I just wanted to let all of you readers know that Carley really appreciates everything that people have been commenting and that she loves your feedback. She just started working on chapter 3. I'm pretty sure that she also has the entire story planned out, so hopefully it won't take her super long for updates :)  
Thank you for reading her story, and remember to keep klanceing!  
love,  
rosey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! hopefully, there will be a new chapter soon (i am secretly waiting for another chapter as well :P)!  
> -rosey


	4. It's Not Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosey was serious when she said that I felt overwhelmed with how much feedback this is getting. Honestly, I'm just slightly confused but very, very happy. Thank you all for actually reading this :) This chapter is kind of short, sorry. I was in a writing mood and I wanted to publish something as kind of a thank you.

So it turns out that staying up until five-thirty in the morning is not a good idea.

 

Lance pouted into the bathroom mirror as he examined the blue-black bags under his eyes. After a quick look at the rest of his face, he also spotted about three places that were about to break out.

 

No, staying up was probably not a good idea.

 

But that didn't mean that Lance regretted it. No, quite the opposite.

 

Lance smiled to himself as he remembered finishing the piece. A few minutes after, his soulmate wrote back, "beautiful," with a little smiley face next to it.

 

It was then that it had occurred to Lance that his soulmate must play an instrument. How else would he know what the music sounded like? Was it a string instrument, like Lance? Was it the cello, even?

 

Even after Lance went to bed, his questions about his soulmate wouldn't stop churning in his mind. Finally, he'd had enough and just asked. And that's how Lance found out that his soulmate played the violin.

 

Lance tried to imagine what his music would sound like on a violin instead of a cello or even what the music would sound like with his cello and the violin. As like, a duet.

 

Somehow, Lance had fallen asleep and woken up before 12:00 the next day. Well, really it was the same day. His parents just rolled their eyes and reminded him how lucky he was that he was on Fall Break and didn't have school that day.

 

Speaking of break. Lance was three days into it and still hadn't hung out with any of his friends. Lance contemplated going over to Pidge's house as he leaned against the sink. He was exhausted, but Lance could probably use Pidge's company. He was pretty bored, as exciting as his night had been.

 

Sighing, Lance shook his head and turned on the shower. He stood there, just watching the water run. Lance didn’t really know why.

 

The rhythmic patter of the shower spray against the linoleum floor of the shower worked Lance into a daze. He didn't know how long he stood there, the mirror fogging up and the water getting hotter and hotter before he finally actually took a shower.

 

Getting into a shower is always easy, but the hard part if finding the strength and willpower to get out. Which, apparently, Lance didn't have.

 

"Lance! Are you seriously still taking a stupid shower?!" Emely yelled through the door.

 

Lance, who was leaning against the tiled wall, snapped his eyes open. "Yeah, just a second."

 

"Well hurry up. You're gonna use all the hot water."

 

A smile ghosted over Lance's face as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower to get dressed.

 

When he got downstairs, Emely glared at him and stomped past, determined to get herself clean before the twins could decide that maybe it was a good idea for them to do the same.

 

Lance walked towards the front door. "Mama, I'm going to Pidge's-"

 

They didn’t even ring the doorbell. They just opened the freaking front door to Lance's house and walked in.

 

Lance narrowed his eyes, suppressing a smile. "Speak of the devil."

 

"And the devil shall appear," Pidge deadpanned. "When were you finally going to get the genius idea to actually talk to me over break."

 

Lance couldn't help it anymore. "Right now, actually," he grinned.

 

Pidge rolled their eyes. "Whatever. You seen Hunk the past couple days?"

 

Lance shrugged. "No. I've been…"

 

"Laying around the house like an annoying idiot?" Nico finished, grinning with Theo in tow.

 

"Yes. That."

 

Pidge snorted. "Sounds like the Lance McClain we all know and love."

 

Lance pointed finger guns at them and smirked. "You know it, shortie."

 

With a scowl, Pidge pushed past Lance into the kitchen. "Hi, Mrs. McClain."

 

Lance's mom looked up from where she was at the sink doing the dishes. "Hello, Pidge! Are you and Lance doing anything interesting today?"

 

Pidge threw a glare backward at Lance over their shoulder. "Yeah, maybe if he actually woke up at a reasonable hour instead of sleeping as long as a freaking hibernating bear we could."

 

Lance glared right back. "I was awake until five thirty! I have an excuse!"

 

"And why," Pidge drawled, "were you awake until five thirty in the morning?"

 

Lance turned crimson.

 

"Yes, Lance," it was Lance's mom's turn to scowl at Lance. "Why _were_ you up until five thirty in the morning?"

 

Lance still wasn't about to tell them everything about his soulmate, so he snapped his mouth shut and just didn't say anything. That probably wasn't the best course of action.

 

"Lance," his mother warned.

 

He pursed his lips then sighed. He would have to tell them something. At least something believable.

 

"Fine, fine," Lance surrendered. "I was… drawing. I was drawing. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and drew."

 

"Drawing?" Pidge asked incredulously. "You never-"

 

Lance silenced them with a look that said they would talk about it later, and Pidge gave a slight nod of understanding after trailing off.

 

Lance's mother was still a bit skeptical, so Lance and Pidge left to go find Hunk to avoid more prodding questions.

 

"So what were you really doing?" Pidge asked, as soon as they were a little way down the sidewalk from Lance's house.

 

Lance kicked away a rock and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I was composing, actually."

 

Their eyes widened. "Did you finally finish it?"

 

Lance smiled. "Yeah. He… persuaded me."

 

Pidge furrowed their brows. "He?"

 

Lance had forgotten that he hadn't told Pidge about his soulmate. "My soulmate. He's a guy."

 

The information took a moment to sink in. "Lance, that's so cool!" Pidge exclaimed, stopping to look at Lance with a huge smile on their face.

 

Lance couldn't help but smile also. "Yeah, I guess it is."

 

"How did he persuade you? What did he say?"

 

Lance remembered the fluttering feeling in his gut when his soulmate told him that he liked his music. "He said that he liked my music."

 

Pidge didn't seem impressed. "That's it?"

 

Lance nodded. He knew that it sounded kind of pathetic, but he saw it as a huge step forward. His soulmate had never complimented him before, let alone started a conversation between them.

 

"He said that he liked my music, so I decided that I don't compose for myself anymore; I do it for him," Lance stated.

 

Pidge shook their head and continued walking, Lance beside them. "That is one of the cheesiest things I've ever heard you say, and you say a lot of cheesy things, Lance."

 

Lance couldn't really say that he cared though. He felt so lighthearted at that moment that all he could think about was the possibility of how absolutely amazing the rest of his life was going to be. Not perfect, but definitely amazing. After all, he had Pidge, he had Hunk, he had his family, and he felt closer to his soulmate that he ever had.

 

Maybe his life wasn't perfect, but it damn well felt like it at that moment.


	5. Allura Doesn't Have A Problem With Toilet Paper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys :)
> 
> So, in honor of season five coming out at 3am today (*sigh* wow really), I gave Lance some good news and he's thiiiiiiiiiiis much closer to finding his soulmate hahahaaaa!!
> 
> Sorry this chapter took so long to write, by the way. I haven't had the smoothest week. I frickin hate algebra, ya know?? Especially word problems. And when your teacher puts typos in them. *facepalm*
> 
> Anyway, enjoy it, you guys!! New chapter up hopefully soon :)

Pidge and Lance poked their heads around the corner of the house.

"You're sure this is hers, Lance?"

 

Lance grinned and swept his eyes over the yard of the small house. "Yeah. This is hers."

"Guys, I really don’t think this is a good idea. I mean, Allura could get really mad at us-"

"Hunk, it’s Allura, I'm pretty sure she won't be mad at three little angels for TPing her house," Lance laughed, twisting over his shoulder to look at Hunk behind him.

Hunk sighed. "Whatever you say, Lance…"

Lance's grin shrank into a smirk. "Alright, Pidge. You and Hunk take the back, I got the front."

Pidge's face contorted into an expression that didn’t strike Lance as remotely human. And it was hilarious. Hunk looked absolutely terrified and that made Lance laugh even harder.

The trio split for their separate yards. Lance crept forward, being careful to stay out of sight of the windows, barely holding in his laughter.

"Lance, you do know that I can still see you from the upstairs windows, right?"

Lance froze and slowly looked up to see Allura grinning down at him from an open window.

"Uh," Lance began.

"Thought so," Allura answered smugly.

After finally regaining his voice, Lance called to Pidge and Hunk. "Pidge! Hunk! We're caught, you guys."

As his friends rounded the corner of Allura's house, Pidge stood on her toes and got in Lance's face.

"It's your fault, isn't it? You did something stupid" they accused.

Lance scratched the back of his neck as his face grew hot. "Uh, not really?"

Allura laughed. "It's not his fault I was cleaning my windows today and saw him," she called down to them. "Come inside, the door's open."

Lance could feel Pidge's glare on his back and he held in a chuckle. Pidge wouldn’t stay mad at him for something this stupid for long.

Allura was walking down the stairs as Lance was closing the front door.

"Hi, you guys," she smiled. "I have a surprise for you. I was going to text you, but you're here, so now I don’t need to."

"I really hate surprises, you know that Allura," Hunk said nervously.

Allura's smile grew impossibly bigger. "You'll like this one, Hunk, I promise."

Lance wondered what could possibly be making Allura this excited. He hadn’t seen her like this in a really long time.

"Drumroll please," Allura faked an announcer's voice.

Lance and his friends laughed as they "drumrolled" on their legs.

After a dramatic pause, Allura announced: "We're going on a road trip!"

There was confused silence for a moment, but it was followed by exclamations of delight and excitement.

"Where to?" Lance questioned, daring to hope it was anywhere near Boston at all. Lance knew that his soulmate had only said maybe to meeting him, but he didn’t say no.

Allura's eyes sparked. "Boston, Massachusetts."

Lance felt almost dizzy. He blinked, trying to clear away the feeling, but he felt sick to his stomach with anticipation.

Relax, Lance, it's just a city. A big city, too. Just being in the same city doesn’t mean that you'll see the one person that you've been waiting for your entire life. Not at all.

Still, Lance couldn’t snap out of it.


	6. Lance Is Very Surprised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Super duper short chapter, but I had an idea and I wanted to write about it.
> 
> I'm on a ski trip with my mom for the next three days, to not much activity this weekend or Monday. I'll get another chapter up ASAP :)
> 
> Wrote this for someone who was feeling down today. Have a Keith to make you feel better. (Love, DreamWorks [we all wish -_-])

"Lance? Lance. Lance McClain, snap out of it!"

 

Lance blinked and shook his head. "Sorry. Distracted."

 

Pidge snorted and shook their head. "Yeah, no dip, Sherlock."

 

"No piss, Watson."

 

"Would you all just calm down," Allura laughed, but it was strained. "Lance, what’s the matter? Is there something wrong with Boston-"

 

"No, no, nothing's wrong with Boston, Allura," Lance said quickly. "I'm just… excited, is all. I'm excited. I love Boston. Boston's great."

 

Allura still looked a little bit worried, but Lance smiled and tried to play it off. "I'm fine, 'Laura, really. Now, what's making you so excited for this trip, huh?" Lance prompted.

 

Allura's concern melted, and that made Lance feel a bit better. "Well, the big reason that we're going to Boston is actually that," Allura paused, and nervousness lined her face. "I've actually set up a meeting with my soulmate. And I want you guys to be there. With me."

 

Another stretch of confusion.

 

Hunk was the first to break the silence. "Allura, are you sure? I mean, soulmates can be kind of a private thing…"

 

"Hunk that's exactly why I want you guys there," Allura explained, the smile coming back to her eyes. "You all are my family, and a family always sticks together."

 

Even Pidge couldn't keep a stony face at that.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith felt two emotions at that moment, and they were complete polar opposites.

 

One of them was panic. The other was very, very excited.

 

"I'm coming to Boston," were the words that had fired up the confusing storm of conflicting emotions inside Keith. His soulmate was always very straightforward, but he would never have made a move like this before.

 

Keith attempted to calm himself down. It was just stupid to think that his soulmate would be coming to Boston just to see him; for God's sake, he didn't even know Keith's name; but all the same, Keith couldn't shut off all of the possible scenarios where he met his soulmate.

 

 

Keith had thought many times about trying to get to know his soulmate better - knowing his name, even - but he never did. There was an anxiety that had taken root in him that he would somehow push his soulmate away if he tried to keep them close. His older brother, Shiro, always thought this was irrational, but that's really how Keith felt.

 

What if he said the wrong thing? Keith knew nothing about his soulmate; what if Keith accidentally said something and his soulmate remembered something that had happened to them a long time ago and they got upset-

 

No. Now wasn't the time. Keith's soulmate was coming to Boston, and Keith had to do something about it. No, Keith wouldn’t set up a meeting between them, Keith was far from ready to meet his soulmate, but Keith would tell him something, at least. A street, a store, something small that meant something to Keith that he could share with his soulmate.

 

Keith finally decided on something, and he could almost feel tinges of foreign emotion as if they weren't his own. Relief, joy, excitement. Perhaps that was what his soulmate was feeling right then.


	7. Keith Doesn't Like Voices In His Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!
> 
> I wrote this because I had 5 hours of time on my hands flying home yesterday, so the next one may be a while. This one is actually pretty long.
> 
> ALSO Rosey started a PJO one-shot thing if any of y'all are interested :) (Rosey_Vasilia)

Lance as shocked. After he told his soulmate that he was coming to Boston, he didn’t really expect a response, but the words that had appeared on his arm last night obviously said otherwise.

 

"Peters Park. Baseball field."

 

The handwriting was neat and even, each letter the same size, but it was hesitant as if something was holding his soulmate back from writing it. Lance always tried to infer something about his soulmate's personality from his handwriting. Google always said that it meant that his soulmate was short-tempered, discreet, goal-oriented, and irrational at times.

 

Lance also wondered what his soulmate thought about _his_ handwriting. Every handwriting quiz on the internet that Lance took said that he needed to learn to balance his head with his heart and that he was a rational, analytical thinker.

 

But what was Peters Park? Did it have some significance to Lance's soulmate? Was a piece of history influential to his soulmate connected to it?

 

Lance his no idea. His soulmate, again, his never been the most talkative, so Lance knew literally nothing about him, not even his name. Nothing but that he lives in Boston. Where Lance is currently headed.

 

Lance leaned his head against the cool glass of the car window and watched the trees rushing past the car. Allura was driving, Pidge was in the passenger seat, and Lance was in the back with Hunk.

 

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, there was something bad happening that he didn’t know about. Lance lifted his head about an inch and looked around the car.

 

Everything was fine. Allura was navigating around other cars on the highway, Pidge was on their phone (of course), and Hunk was reading. How Hunk could do that without getting carsick, Lance had no idea.

 

Everything was perfectly fine. Except it wasn't.

 

Still, the strange feeling persisted. It was almost as if someone was driving a spike through the center of his heart and a dull ache along his scalp. It didn't hurt, exactly, it just felt… wrong.

 

And it probably was. Lance had never felt this before. It was as if his emotions were no longer his own and he was pretending to be another person. He was no longer Lance, he was… well, he didn't really know who or what he was. Lance only knew that he was someone other than himself.

 

"Thirty more minutes, everyone," Allura glanced in the rearview mirror at Lance and Hunk. "Not much longer."

 

It was roughly five-thirty in the evening. Allura had made sure that everyone had met bright and early at her house to get started; Boston was around a 13-hour drive.

 

Hunk yawned. "Allura, I'm exhausted. And hungry, I'm also hungry."

 

"You’re _always_ hungry, Hunk," Pidge sighed from the front seat. "But I've got to agree with Hunk a little bit, at least. Can we get dinner soon?" they asked.

 

Allura looked back at Lance again. "Lance? You're being awfully quiet. Are you hungry as well?"

 

Lance lifted his head from the window to meet Allura's slightly concerned gaze. "Yeah, I'm a little hungry."

 

Allura didn’t look very happy with his response like she was expecting more. And she probably was, Lance was never this quiet. He didn’t know what was wrong with him or what was going on, but Lance really didn’t like it.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith idly plucked at the strings of his violin, attempting to ignore the whispering voice in his head. Keith was his own person, he didn’t want to have to deal with other… things sharing his headspace.

 

_Oh, so that's what you think of me?_

 

"Go. Away," Keith hissed. "You don’t belong in my head. Go away."

 

 _You know I'll never leave you alone, Keith. I'll_ always _be here._

 

Keith swung the violin up onto his shoulder and picked up his bow, still trying to ignore the voice even though he knew it was pointless. The voice would never leave him no matter how many times he yelled, no matter how many times he pleaded. It always stayed.

 

Keith hated it. He hated the voice, he hated the pain that came with it, and he hated himself for being too weak to rip his own mind from the grasp of the voice.

 

_You're scared your soulmate won't accept you because of me, aren’t you? Are you really that ashamed of me, Keith_ _Kogane?_

 

Keith's vision began to cloud. This didn’t happen often, only when the voice was very, very angry.

 

There was nothing Keith could do to stop the burning flow of tears streaming down his face. The voice didn’t usually cut to this topic so suddenly. Keith hated it no even more, if at all possible. Keith's older brother, Shiro, always tried to get Keith to talk about why Keith was so closed off about his soulmate, but the voice and Keith himself always refused.

 

Why? Keith was terrified of his soulmate. It scared him out of his wits that there was this one, single person out there somewhere that the universe had destined for _him._ Keith stressed over the fact that he had one chance - just one - with this person, this boy, who was destined for him and him alone. What if he messed it up? What if his soulmate didn’t like him? There were too many painful possibilities for Keith to think about.

 

The voice, on the other hand, had other reasons for keeping Keith out of touch with his soulmate. Keith didn’t know what they were, but he knew that they were certainly not good ones. The voice was digging and cruel, but Keith had no idea why.

 

_It's because I hate you, Keith. Everyone hates you._

 

Keith gritted his teeth. "Shiro!"

 

Keith's field of vision began to clear just as he heard his older brother enter his room.

 

"Keith? Keith, is it talking to you again? Keith, don’t listen to it, it's lying to you, you know that," Shiro sounded panicked.

 

Keith tried to make his way over to where Shiro was standing, but he stumbled so Shiro met him half-way.

 

"Keith, what did it say to you?"

 

Keith tried to bury his face further into Shiro's chest so he didn’t have to answer.

 

"Keith, please. This is really serious. Schizophrenia is nothing to joke about, you know that."

 

At the mention of his condition, Keith flinched and held Shiro tighter.

 

_Don’t listen to him, Keith, there's nothing wrong with you._

 

A strangled sound clawed its way out of Keith's throat, and he grasped Shiro's shirt in his fists. "Get away from me!"

 

"Keith, please, don’t listen to it."

 

 _He's lying to you Keith._ He's _the one who's wrong, not me. He's trying to kill me. He's trying to kill_ you, _Keith._

 

Keith tensed, slowly releasing Shiro's shirt from his grasp and backing away, eyes wide. "Shiro, what are you doing to me?"

 

Shiro looked helpless. "What are you talking about, Keith. I'm trying to help you."

 

_He's lying._

 

"You're lying.

 

Shiro's eyes widened. "Keith, why would you say something like-"

 

"You're trying to kill me!" Keith yelled. "The voice told me so! It said you’re a liar and that you're trying to kill me!" he sobbed, the tears coming down again.

 

Shiro's shoulders hunched and he looked close to collapsing. "Keith, tell me why I would do something like that to you."

 

And Keith did. There was no logical reason for Shiro to want to hurt him. "Then why," Keith winced at how shaky his own voice was. "Why did the voice tell me that-"

 

"The voice is a liar, Keith," Shiro said calmly, taking small, slow steps toward Keith. "I love you, I would never try to hurt you. I'm your brother, Keith."

 

For once, the voice was surprisingly silent, and that gave Keith the courage to step slowly forward into Shiro's outstretched arms.

 

Keith finally felt safe for the first time in a long time, and the tight knot in his stomach that he didn’t even know was there began to loosen.

 

"I have to go into the city today," Shiro sounded like he was choosing his words carefully, as if one too sharp would shatter Keith into a million tiny pieces. "I don’t really want to leave you by yourself,"

 

 _"Right now,"_ Keith thought to himself bitterly.

 

"Do you want to come with me?" Shiro asked hesitantly.

 

Keith nodded against his brother's chest, too tired of speaking to actually answer. He could feel Shiro relax and breathe a small sigh of what was probably relief.

 

"Okay," Shiro whispered, setting his chin on the top of Keith's head. "Put something decent on. I'm going to go change too," Shiro gave Keith one last tight squeeze and left, looking over his shoulder as he passed into the hallway.

 

Keith's brows furrowed. Was that… _apprehension_ that he heard in Shiro's voice? What did Shiro have to be nervous about in the city? Was this about Keith? Was this Keith's _fault?_

 

_Of course it is._

 

"I'm not going to listen to you," Keith whispered weakly. "You can't control me."

 

_Whatever you say._

 

Keith took a deep breath shoved thoughts about the voice aside. Whatever Shiro was nervous about, Keith needed to be in a clear enough state of mind to help him deal with it.

 

Last night was a perfect example. When Keith's soulmate had told Keith that he was coming to Boston, the swirl of tangled emotions brought the voice to the surface, telling Keith that his soulmate was lying. He wasn't really coming to Boston, he was just baiting Keith to see if he would bite.

 

Just like now, Keith had pushed the voice aside and told his soulmate where to meet him. Keith and Shiro used to go to Peters Park as kids with his mom before she disappeared and his dad died. Then they had just… stopped. It was just too painful for the two of them to stay in for too long, he guessed.

 

But, if Keith wanted to try to open up more to his soulmate, which he did, Keith would have to start sharing things with him.

 

Keith changed into a cleaner set of clothes and went downstairs to find Shiro already there, pacing the front hall.

 

"Are you ready?" Shiro asked.

 

Keith nodded, but he wondered if he was really the one who needed to be ready for what they were going to be doing in the city.


	8. sorry, no update yet (but another friendly note)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't mind me, it's just rosey back again because someone left ao3 open and logged into whoops

Hi everyone! It's Rosey again, back from the dead.  
I have finally gotten an archive account! You can see me at @Rosey_Vasilia (don't forget my wattpad account is also @Rosey_Vasilia wink wink) and I have three works up as of now. Two are VLD and one is PJO/HOO. Yes, the voltron ones have klance. Sorry, had to get the shameless self-promo out of the way. Moving on!  
Yes, there is now angst in the book (yes, I tried to get rid of it, I apologize). But, always, I am the one stuck listening to Carley rant about the comments she gets because she can't handle life. So, everyone, continue commenting (maybe we can finish her off for good!) and try not to die as the story continues (oho you're in for it). Just so you are aware, there has been suffering on her (and my) part for the upcoming chapters, which involves a lot of research on schizophrenia and other things that are coming up (choo choo, here comes the angst train). But that's all I will say about that.  
Okay, well, the next chapter is up and running, and Carley should have it up soon (who knows how long soon is? not me)! Thanks for reading my pointless notes, and have a good day (morning? I haven't slept yet)!  
Love,  
Rosey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when i wrote love, rosey i was reminded of an amazing movie coming out called Love, Simon- who is pumped i mean heck yes we need representation  
> okay enjoy your life my klancers, i bid you adeiu  
> -rosey


	9. Café? Coffee Shop? Who Knows?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance is an idiot. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIIIII GUYS WHAT'S UP
> 
> Hope you all have had a lovely Pi Day!
> 
> Sorry the chapter is so short but please enjoy! :)

Lance shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He, Hunk, Pidge, and Allura were waiting - quite impatiently - in a coffee shop somewhere in downtown Boston. Lance honestly had a horrible sense of direction, so he had no real idea of where they were besides the obvious fact that they were standing together in a crowded coffee shop in a crowded part of a big city that was called Boston, so he guessed that they were downtown. For Lance, those were some pretty good observations. 

After standing around for about twenty minutes, Lance gave into the desire to sit down. Rather, his aching feel gave in and Hunk voiced what Lance was pretty sure that they were all thinking.

"Allura, how much longer do you think it will be? Are we even in the right place? You agreed to meet him here at 6:30 and it's almost 6:25."

If Allura was worried, she didn’t show it. Lance suspected that she was, anyway; she was never really one to worry her friends, even if she was having a legitimate problem.

"I'm sure something just came up and he's on his way here. He might have decided to walk and it's taking a little bit longer than he predicted," Allura reasoned.

Lance tried to pick apart her tone. There were certainly notes of excitement, but there was also something else that he just couldn’t identify; something almost like apprehension. Lance couldn't think of anything that Allura would be afraid for, unless she was nervous that her soulmate just wouldn’t show up like they had planned.

Lance's thoughts were interrupted as the café (was it even a café?) door opened and two guys of about Lance's age stepped through.

One was tall and muscular. He had black hair that was sticking up all over the place, like the man ran his fingers through it a lot. But it didn’t look messy - it looked like it fit the person whose hair it was. His eyes, black as his hair, swept over the interior of the coffee shop (café?!) with an air of almost-panic.

The other was about Lance's height if shorter. He also had black hair that hung over his eyebrows and crept down the back of his neck into a mullet. His eyes were a more interesting color, and Lance took no shame in staring at them, deciphering the colors and the thoughts that he found in them. They were so dark blue that they almost looked black, but they also had something that looked like purple in them.

Something tugged in Lance's chest and he glanced over at Allura, who was chewing her lip and sweeping her gaze over the two newcomers as well. The tugging feeling worsened.

Lance wordlessly pulled a pen out of his pocket and held it out to Allura. She stared at it for a moment and then looked back up at Lance. A smile ghosted over her face as she took it.

As she uncapped it, Lance turned his attention back to the people who had just entered the café (Lance now assumed their destination was a café), who were now getting coffee. The taller's had twitched, and he looked down at it, eyes now filled with excitement and fear, not different from how Allura's had looked minutes ago.

His eyes scanned what was probably a message written on his arm and he looked up, directly into Lance's eyes. They both seemed to blink and they both looked away in different directions. The man toward Allura and Lance toward the shorter guy.

He seemed to look at Lance with a newfound confusion, and that just confused Lance as well. But, Lance did have to admit that the guy was pretty damn attractive, so Lance didn’t really mind staring at him while he stared at Lance.

"It's a win for both of us," Lance thought as he resisted the urge to wink at him.

The stranger's eye twitched and he looked away, to the taller man the Lance assumed he was somehow related to, judging by the comfortable stance that both of them had, but the guy that Lance had been staring at - ahem, excuse me - people watching looked tense as well, as if at any moment, something might jump out and scare him.

Lance looked back at Allura to find her still staring at the taller stranger and he nudged her shoulder.

"Go talk to him," he said softly. "If you never ask, you'll never know for sure."

Allura nodded like she was only paying half-attention, which Lance supposed she was. He guessed that it was kind of hard to focus on anything else if you're staring at your potential soulmate.

"I wouldn't know, though. I've never really stared into the face of my soulmate before," Lance thought bitingly. "I wouldn’t know."

He looked again to Allura's soulmate (probably) to see him begin to take a tentative step forward and Allura did the same until they met each other in the middle.

"Hi," the man said.

"Hi," Allura replied shyly, and Lance was shocked. "Shy" was never a quality that he would have ever pinned on Allura.

Lance shifted his gaze to the shorter supposed-brother, who was slowly approaching as well.

"My name is Shiro," the man said, offering Allura a small smile and his hand, supposedly to shake.

Allura beamed at him in return before becoming nervous again. "I am Allura. Are you.. Are you sure you are my…"

The question was practically dripping off of her words and Lance could see the other boy make a sound that almost sounded like a gag and Lance snickered.

If Shiro or Allura had heard him, they didn’t pay any attention to him.

"I think so," Shiro answered hesitantly, showing Allura his arm.

Lance couldn’t see what was written there, but Allura was no longer scared or doubtful of the fact the Shiro was her soulmate. She began chattering with him excitedly as Lance stepped up to the shorter boy.

"The name's Lance," he introduced, sticking his hand out in the same fashion that Shiro had done a minute before.

The boy inspected it unblinkingly before slowly taking Lance's hand and shaking it.

"Keith."


	10. In Which Lance Makes a Dirty Joke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the endnotes for my shit excuse as to why I haven't posted a new chapter.

"Keith? What kind of a name is Keith?" Lance questioned incredulously. "You need something that… flows better, like a nickname." Lance tossed a look over his shoulder at Shiro and Allura, who were still deep in excited conversation. "Looks like we'll be seeing each other more often now, huh?"

 

Keith wasn't quite sure what to think of Lance. When he first saw him across Altea Coffee Co. (he and Shiro just called it Altea), Keith was caught off guard by the way that Lance had so shamelessly and obviously stared at him as if trying to read him and figure out what he was thinking. Keith didn't like it when people knew what he was thinking.

 

"You're one to talk, you’re named after a spear," Keith retaliated, his nose wrinkling.

 

Lance's mouth fell open and Keith suppressed a smirk of satisfaction. "Well, I'm not named after some rock singer who died!" Lance responded defensively.

 

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

 

Lance gestured vaguely. "You know? Keith Cocaine or something?"

 

This time, Keith couldn’t hold back his laugh. "You mean Kurt Cobain?"

 

"Yeah, him!" Lance said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Loser, if you ask me."

 

"Well, I didn’t ask you, did I?" Keith deadpanned, mimicking Lance's motion of crossing his arms.

 

Lance's face turned a bright shade of red and Keith couldn’t help but think was was cute. Lance furrowed his eyebrows when he was mad, but his nose didn’t screw up, Keith noticed. Why did he see these things? Keith had no idea and tried not to care.

 

"Wanna introduce us to your new friend, Lance?" A short, red-haired kid butted into their conversation. "You guys look pretty couple-y to me."

 

A taller guy standing behind them snorted but quickly regained a neutral composure.

 

"Pidge, I just met the guy," Lance snapped. "As hot as he is, I'm not quite sure I want to be this guy's… boyfriend."

 

Keith could feel his face burning. "I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment."

 

Lance winked at him, and somehow Keith's face got even redder.

 

"I'm going to slap you," Keith grumbled.

 

"Slap me where?" Lance teased, eyebrows dancing. Pidge snorted.

 

"Uh," Keith stuttered, confused. "The face? Where else?"

 

Lance and Pidge doubled over laughing, while their other friend looked down at them disapprovingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry I haven't posted anything, I actually feel really guilty. I've been preparing for my school's music festival (I sang Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera *insert long, frustrated sigh here* comment if you want to see a video of it idk I'm vain like that)
> 
> AND ALSO THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY MONTH!!!!!!!!
> 
> I auditioned for Newsies the musical yesterday! Newsies is my favorite musical, and if you don't know what it is, go and look it up (the poor gUY'S HEAD IS SPINNING) and listen to the music.
> 
> Again, I'm so, so sorry that this chapter is so short and it took so long. I'm kind of an anxiety-ridden mess right now as I wait for the cat list, so please give me grace xD
> 
> Love you all <3


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